Higgs Boson
by Lily meet Ginny
Summary: A particulate friendship is given the weight to turn into something more. Cedmione drabble collection for the Alphabet Soup drabble competition
1. Z- Zealous for a Friend

Hermione had read that Muggle-born had some difficulty finding jobs, but she'd hoped that having high OWLs from every elective would negate that. However, she hadn't factored in the three years of stress _before_ OWLs. She was low on energy and drowning in homework. Third year was going to be terrible.

She was hidden in the library behind her tower of books, struggling through nine homework assignments, when trouble happened upon her.

"Look at Granger," came Malfoy's whiny voice from above her.

Oh god. Couldn't he leave her alone for one night? She avoided looking up, hoping he would leave.

"She had to be every teacher's pet, so she took every class. Little zealous Mudblood, thinking she might actually amount to something in the world."

"Fifteen points from Slytherin, Malfoy."

She did look up at that, in time to see a pink flush make its way across Malfoy's cheeks as Cedric Diggory of all people docked him points.

"When my father hears about this," he snarled, only to be interrupted.

"Yes, when your father hears about it, you'll still be down fifteen points. You know, Malfoy, I thought you were Slytherin enough to understand the importance of intelligence. I guess not."

Malfoy stormed off, leaving Cedric standing in front of Hermione.

"Looks like you're swamped," he said friendlily. "Care for some help?"

Hermione smiled as Cedric sat down next to her. Maybe this year wouldn't be that bad after all.


	2. J- Juggling More Than Classes

Cedric considered Hermione to be a friend, which was why when she entered the library mid-year looking worn-down for the fourth day in a row, Cedric knew he needed to talk to her.

"Have you considered dropping a class?"

"No," she said firmly, nose in two books.

"Hermione, you're too stressed and it's only your third year. You're juggling far too many things."

He transfigured five balls.

"It isn't too hard to juggle three balls- or electives," he said demonstrating, before adding two more. With the addition of the fifth, he was left using the wall to keep the balls in play.

"But you have five, and pretty soon you'll be up against the wall, letting it support you and your juggling, he said solely, before catching the balls. "Juggling three balls with two hands is impressive, but then what ? Five balls? Three hands? It isn't worth it, and that's where you're at."

"I need all of these electives," Hermione said. He could see tears forming.

"Why?"

"I need all the OWLs so I can get a good job."

"Hermione, you could take the Muggle Studies OWL without taking the elective. You'd probably get the highest score anyway. And you hate divination, plus no one cares about that one anymore. Drop the two and you'll still get a good job. If you don't, I'll find you one."

"You'd do that?"

"Yep."

She smiled and stood.

"I think I need to go talk to Professor McGonagall about schedule changes."


	3. K- The Key to Conversation

When they'd shown up at Stoatshead Hill at that ungodly hour, Cedric had been excited to see Hermione there. None of his friends had managed to get tickets, and it would be nice to have someone to talk to other than his father. He trudged over to her.

"I'm glad your father found the Portkey," she said, yawning. "We'd be more likely to trample it than find it at this time of day."

"I think that's how he found it," Cedric said truthfully.

Hermione laughed softly before crossing her arms self-consciously.

"You know, I never understood why they used garbage for Portkeys," he said suddenly.

"I know!" she perked up. "I guess the Ministry doesn't understand that there are Muggles who clean garbage from parks and the countryside as volunteer work."

"That boot would be the first thing they'd pick up. I always thought it would be better to use keys. No one is likely to pick it up mistakenly, and when you found it, you'd know it was right."

Cedric smiled as Hermione instantly lost any pretext of shyness and talked full speed ahead. That was the Hermione he knew.

She chatted with him warmly as they arrived by Portkey and went on to look for souvenirs. Knowledge was not only the key for getting Hermione to open up, it was also the key to spending a day with her and her friends. He couldn't imagine a better way to spend the day at the World Cup.


	4. L- Lampshades Refine the Light

Hermione couldn't believe Hogwarts kept slaves. She'd founded S.P.E.W. to free all house-elves and made Harry and Ron join. She'd expected Cedric to join as well, but he wasn't quite so receptive.

"Hermione," he said evenly. "I don't think you're seeing the whole picture."

" Slavery is wrong. What exactly am I missing?" she asked challengingly. "That the wizarding world is backwards?"

"I can't disagree with that, but hear me out."

She crossed her arms.

"My family has a house-elf. I named her Lampshade when I was three- I was a bit obsessed with Muggle things. She lives with us and is given free reign of the house. We'd pay her, but she'd refuse. House-elves are like extremely sentient cats. She doesn't belong to us; we're her family and we belong to her. She lives with us, eats with us, we've never made her work when ill, and she mothers me more than my mum. There are quite a few women who marry to get the same deal. I firmly agree with you that mistreated house-elves should be freed. But most are delighted to have a family to spoil. Look, your cause is a light in an area that my father's done little for. You just need your own lampshade to refine that light into something so bright, it can't be smothered."

"S.P.E.W. will go further if it's just for aiding mistreated elves," she said finally. "I'll change the bylaws. But can I meet Lampshade?"

"Whenever you want," he grinned.


	5. B- Bird is the Word

"What was the point of the weighing?" Cedric asked Hermione as they studied. "The spells were pointless; it would've been better if he tested offensive spells."

She crinkled her forehead as she wrote.

"They were all good indicators of power," she answered absentmindedly.

"What good was the wine fountain?"

She looked at him over her parchment.

"It's advanced summoning. Olivander had to summon wine from a location likely over 300 miles away."

"I guess that's impressive," Cedric mused. "How about smoke rings?"

"That one is actually closer to the offensive magic you were looking for. You could use smoke rings for communication or as cover during battle."

"You can't tell me that a bouquet of flowers is offensive."

She snorted.

"Only if your enemy is allergic to pollen. It _is_ conjuration though, which is NEWTs material."

"Fine," Cedric grumbled. "But what good are birds?"

"Can I show you later?"

The next afternoon while in the courtyard, Hermione was called a mudblood yet again. She smiled at Cedric, flicked her wand, and muttered, "Oppugno!"

Her enemies never stood a chance against the massive flock of terrorist birds.

Cedric stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief. She could do that? He didn't know whether to be impressed or afraid.

She smirked, curly hair billowing in the wind, and dusted off her hands.

"_That_ is what good birds are."


	6. C- Catastrophic Conundrum

She hadn't wanted to watch him face dragons, but she couldn't look away. She'd been horrified that the officials would dare use dragons in a competition. Didn't anyone have an ounce of logic? Nesting mothers were particularly vicious, and they were enraging them for fun and games. Any one of the champions could have been killed. As it was, both Cedric and Harry sustained injuries.

She darted into the makeshift hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey would surely kick her out if she were discovered. Harry had been healed instantly, but Cedric sat hidden behind a screen. She hurried over to where Cedric was hidden.

"Cedric!" she hissed, attempting to avoid detection. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Hermione! Breaking rules to see me?" he grinned. His face was a mess. A good portion was hidden behind a burn plaster, making him look almost sinister. He'd tried to raise his eyebrows comically, but the effect was lost with one burnt off.

"You scared me!"

He looked pitiful.

"I can't believe you were hurt," she murmured, throwing her arms around him. "I really thought your transfiguration was working too!"

"It was a catastrophic conundrum. You liked it?"

"Of course! It was a great piece of spell work."

"Was it as good as those birds?" he asked teasingly.

"Not quite," she answered contrarily.

"Oh well. As long as you liked it," he said, pulling her up to sit beside him. They stayed there holding each other until long after they were discovered.


	7. X- Barr Bodies and Late Bloomers

Cedric had been planning to ask Hermione to Yule Ball, but he'd kicked himself when Viktor Krum beat him to it. That was the last time he would procrastinate on something important. He'd ended up asking Cho Chang, since their friends were dating.

He was still berating himself the day he found Hermione in tears in some obscure corner of the castle.

"What's wrong?" he questioned as he traced circles on her back

"Ron's a prat," she spat out. "He had the nerve to tell me I was a girl, get mad when I turned him down for the Yule Ball, and then suggest I was making up actually having a date. He's unbelievable."

"He is," Cedric agreed.

"You'd think more than one person would notice I have two X-chromosomes off the bat. Am I supposed to be just one of the guys forever?"

"I was planning on asking you," Cedric said casually.

"What happened?"

"Krum beat me to it," he said sheepishly. "Save me a dance?"

"Of course." She wiped her tears

Though he sat next to Hermione at the Yule Ball dinner, it was nothing compared to dancing with her. He didn't think he'd been as nervous facing the dragon as he was asking her for the next dance. She was radiant and she was _his_ until the song ended. As Cedric pulled her close, he resolved that would be the last time he ever put off anything that important.


	8. M-A Bit of Mongrel is Best for Every Day

Hermione opened her eyes and took a gulp of air. The lake was freezing in February. She turned to thank her rescuer as he pulled her to shore, only to find herself face to face with Cedric.

"But, you weren't supposed to rescue me," she spluttered, before blushing fiercely.

"You mean you'd rather me leave you out here," he laughed, splashing her.

"No! Not at all. I just thought you were supposed to rescue Cho."

"I'm sure I was, but I figured I'd let Harry rescue her."

She looked at him in amazement.

"Oh come on. You think I didn't know he asked her to the ball? It's long past time they got together. They've been making moon eyes at each other for months."

"Cedric, Harry was supposed to rescue Ron. I was Krum's hostage."

"Whoops. You're mine now."

As they dried off and got warm, they could hear Headmaster Dumbledore conversing with Krum.

"Now Mr. Krum, I assure you Mr. Weasley is your biggest fan."

They burst out laughing.

"You mongrel," Hermione said teasingly, before he dipped in to kiss her soundly.


	9. Wonder- the Voiceless Music of the Heart

Were he anyone else, Hermione knew he might've taken offense to what she said.

"You want me to lose?" Cedric asked confused.

"No!" she yelped. "I just don't want you to get yourself into any sort of predicament. Someone is trying to kill Harry, and I don't want you caught in the crossfire. By all means, win, but don't you dare let me lose you!"

He was quiet for a minute.

"You know why I entered, right? Hufflepuff has been downtrodden and voiceless for far too long. We're the ones who help when the going gets tough, but we're forgotten about in the meantime. I'm a representative not just for Hogwarts, but for Hufflepuff as well. I didn't enter for fame and glory, just for the chance to make my house stand strong again and garner back respect that we never truly lost."

She stared at him in wonder.

"That, my dear, is why even if I don't win, I at least have to try."

"Then take this for luck," she said, unfastening her SPEW badge and pinning it onto his shirt. "This will be my voice out there, telling you to win but come home."

"I don't know how much luck it will bring, but I'll wear it," he said, adjusting it so it lay straight. "You really don't care if I win over Harry?"

"Not as long as you both come back," Hermione said firmly, kissing him one last time before he went into the maze.


	10. N- Never Mind That Wretched Time

Hermione was surrounded by a torrent of noise. The screams propelled her forward. No. He couldn't be. She beat the crowd down and crouched next to him. He was pale, and far too still. He had won the cup, but at what cost? She felt the overwhelming keening low in her throat and could barely choke back the sobs. She'd told him to come home, but this wasn't what she'd meant. She fingered the badge she'd given him. It was singed black and faintly moved as she touched it. She gasped in surprise.

"Madame Pomfrey, come quick," she shouted, before letting out a startled eep as a desperate hand closed around hers.

"Hermione," Cedric wheezed, struggling to open his eyes.

"It's ok, you'll be ok," she spoke methodically, reassuringly.

"You know how I said I wasn't sure how much luck your badge would bring?" he whispered. "Well, never mind."

She started crying at that.

Later that night in the infirmary, she sat with him again. He'd broken most ribs and punctured a lung, but he was alive.

"Your badge saved my life," he said, gripping the crinkled mess. "I heard the Killing curse and I thought I was dead." He shuddered. "It struck the badge and blew me backward, but it didn't kill me."

"I thought I'd lost you," she said unsteadily. "You were so pale…"

"I'm not leaving," he said adamantly, pushing back tendrils of curl and grabbing her hand tightly. "I've got you; I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
